SECTIONS 43600-43610.1 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 43600-43610.1

43600. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), any
person owning or operating a solid waste landfill, as defined in
Section 40195.1, shall, with the closure plan and postclosure
maintenance plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
43501, submit to the board evidence of financial ability to provide
for the cost of closure and postclosure maintenance, in an amount
that is equal to the estimated cost of closure and 15 years of
postclosure maintenance, contained in the closure plan and the
postclosure maintenance plan submitted.
(b) On and after the effective date of the federal regulations set
forth in Subpart G (commencing with Section 258.70) of Part 258 of
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, any person owning or
operating a solid waste landfill, shall, with the closure plan and
postclosure maintenance plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 43501, submit to the board evidence of financial ability to
provide for closure and postclosure maintenance, in an amount that is
equal to the estimated cost of closure and 30 years of postclosure
maintenance, contained in the closure plan and the postclosure
maintenance plan submitted.

43601. (a) The evidence of financial ability shall be sufficient to
meet the closure and postclosure maintenance costs when needed.
(b) The owner or operator of a solid waste landfill shall provide
evidence of financial ability through the use of any of the
mechanisms set forth in Part 258 (commencing with Section 258.1) of
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations or through the use of any
other mechanisms approved by the board. However, the board may adopt
regulations that reasonably condition the use of one or more of
those mechanisms to ensure adequate protection of public health and
safety and the environment, but shall not exclude the use of any
mechanism permitted under federal law. In addition, the evidence of
financial ability submitted pursuant to Section 43600 shall provide
that funds shall be available to the regional water boards upon the
issuance of any order under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300)
of Division 7 of the Water Code to implement closure and postclosure
activities.
(c) The state water board or the appropriate regional water board
shall have access to the financial assurance funds for closure and
postclosure activities, and to financial assurance funds for
corrective action, as necessary, to address water quality problems,
if the owner or operator of the solid waste landfill has failed to
implement the required closure and postclosure activities or
corrective action activities.
(d) The owner or operator may request disbursement for
expenditures to conduct closure, postclosure maintenance, or
corrective actions from the financial assurance mechanism established
for that activity. Requests for disbursement shall be granted by the
board only if sufficient funds are remaining in the financial
assurance mechanism to cover the remaining approved total costs of
closure, postclosure maintenance, or corrective actions, as
appropriate.
(e) If the evidence of financial ability for closure, postclosure,
or corrective action is demonstrated by use of insurance, the board
may approve the insurance mechanism if it is in compliance with
either paragraph (1) or (2) as follows:
(1) The issuer of the insurance policy is either:
(A) Licensed by the Department of Insurance to transact the
business of insurance in the State of California as an admitted
carrier.
(B) Eligible to provide insurance as an excess and surplus lines
insurer in California through a surplus lines broker currently
licensed under the regulations of the Department of Insurance and
upon the terms and conditions prescribed by the Department of
Insurance.
(2) If the insurance carrier is established by a solid waste
facility operator to meet the financial assurance obligations of that
operator, insurance may be approved by the board that meets all of
the following requirements:
(A) The insurance mechanism is in full compliance with the
requirements for insurance that are specified in subdivision (d) of
Section 258.74 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(B) The insurance carrier is an insurer domiciled in the United
States and licensed in its state of domicile to write that insurance.
(C) The insurance carrier only provides financial assurance to the
operator that has established the insurance carrier as a form of
self-insurance and does not engage in the business of marketing,
brokering, or providing insurance coverage to other parties.
(D) The insurance carrier shall maintain a rating of A- or better
by A.M. Best, or other equivalent rating by any other agency
acceptable to the board.
(E) If requested by the board, an independent financial audit
report evaluating the assets and liabilities of the insurance carrier
and confirming compliance with the statutory and regulatory
requirements of the state of domicile and an independent actuarial
opinion on the independence and financial soundness of the insurance
carrier by an actuary in good standing with the Casualty Actuarial
Society or the American Academy of Actuaries regarding the adequacy
of the loss reserves maintained by the insurance carrier shall be
submitted to the board upon application and annually thereafter.
(f) A solid waste facility operator using or proposing to use an
insurance company to demonstrate financial assurance may be required
by the board to pay a fee for the actual and necessary cost of
reviewing information submitted by the operator pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subdivision (e) up to an amount not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), unless a higher amount is mutually agreed to by
the operator and the board.
(g) The funds collected pursuant to subdivision (f) shall be
deposited in the Integrated Waste Management Account and shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by
the board to fund the review specified in subdivision (f).

43601.5. (a) On or before March 1, 1994, the board shall review and
revise regulations affecting solid waste landfill closure and
postclosure financial assurances adopted in accordance with this
article to make the regulations consistent with the requirements
established pursuant to Subpart G (commencing with Section 258.1) of
Part 258 of Subchapter I of Chapter 1 of Title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, as amended on October 9, 1991.
(b) In reviewing and revising regulations pursuant to subdivision
(a), the board shall, consistent with this division, and with federal
law and regulations, endeavor to minimize the costs of compliance
with those regulations by the owners and operators of public solid
waste landfills and to provide flexible mechanisms for those owners
and operators to comply with closure and postclosure financial
assurance requirements, in order to ensure that adequate funding will
be available for programs and projects that are necessary to comply
with the diversion requirements of Section 41780.

43602. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), evidence of
financial ability required of an owner or operator of a solid waste
landfill, as defined in Section 40195.1, shall be adjusted to equal
the estimated costs of closure and 15 years of postclosure
maintenance in the approved plans. Revisions in the plans prior to
closure shall be accompanied by corresponding revisions in cost
estimates and financial assurances.
(b) On and after the effective date of the federal regulations set
forth in Subpart G (commencing with Section 258.70) of Part 258 of
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the evidence of
financial ability required of an owner or operator of a solid waste
landfill shall be adjusted to equal the estimated costs of closure
and 30 years of postclosure maintenance in the approved plans.
Revisions in the plans prior to closure shall be accompanied by
corresponding revisions in cost estimates and financial assurances.

43603. The board shall not require an owner or operator of a
disposal site to revise or amend a closure plan submitted pursuant to
this section or former Section 66796.22 of the Government Code after
closure of the landfill in order to reflect subsequent changes in
any standards and regulations adopted by the board.

43604. (a) During the closure and postclosure maintenance period, a
solid waste landfill owner or operator shall maintain evidence of
financial ability sufficient to pay postclosure maintenance costs,
except that the owner or operator may request reimbursement for costs
of postclosure maintenance as they are incurred if the remaining
amount of funds is at least equal to the remaining postclosure
maintenance cost.
(b) Notwithstanding the effective date of this section, owners and
operators shall be required to comply with this section on the
effective date of those regulations set forth in Part 258 (commencing
with Section 258.1) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

43605. Nothing in this division affects the authority of the State
Water Resources Control Board to impose closure and postclosure
maintenance requirements on disposal sites.

43606. (a) Except for financial arrangements approved by the board
pursuant to this article, no indemnification, hold harmless, or
similar agreement or conveyance is effective to transfer from the
owner or operator of a disposal site to any other person any
obligations imposed on the owner or operator under this article.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), nothing in this section
prohibits any agreement between the owner and the operator regarding
their respective obligations for closure and postclosure maintenance
of a disposal site, and nothing in this section prohibits a cause of
action that an owner or operator has or would have against the other
party by reason of that agreement.

43610. (a) Notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section
43500) or this article, a small city which operates a solid waste
landfill, as defined in Section 40195.1, in Kings County, that is
operational and, as of January 1, 1991, has been granted all required
permits, is not required to submit a postclosure maintenance plan or
to provide a fund for postclosure maintenance pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 43500) or this article, if all of the
following conditions are met:
(1) The city has a population of less than 20,000 persons.
(2) The solid waste landfill receives less than 20,000 tons of
solid waste per year.
(3) The water table of the highest aquifer under the solid waste
landfill is 250 or more feet below the base of the solid waste
landfill and the water in the highest aquifer is not potable.
(4) The solid waste landfill receives less than an average of 12
inches of rainfall per year.
(5) The solid waste landfill is closed in compliance with all
state closure testing requirements at the time of closure.
(b) The exemption in subdivision (a) from the requirement to
submit a postclosure maintenance plan shall become inoperative on the
effective date of the federal regulations set forth in Subpart F
(commencing with Section 258.60) of Part 258 of Title 40 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, and the exemption in subdivision (a) from the
requirement to provide a fund for postclosure maintenance shall
become inoperative on the effective date of the federal regulations
set forth in Subpart G (commencing with Section 258.70) of Part 258
of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

43610.1. A disposal site owner or operator who meets the
requirements of this article and its implementing regulations shall
be deemed to have satisfactorily complied with all state requirements
for financial ability to provide for closure and postclosure
maintenance costs.